The Living Room
by PJ Blindclown
Summary: All Lief knows about early births is that they can be dangerous.


A/N.) This is Anna's backstory. I thought it might help to explain why Lief and Jasmine treat her the way they do in 'All The Pretty Things.' There were many useful websites that I looked at while doing my research for this story, and I'll put them up on my profile when I get the time.

Disclaimer: I don't own Deltora Quest, Emily Rodda does. Therefore, all the people, places etc. mentioned in this story are not my own creations.

Lief was sitting in a corner of the palace library. It was early in the evening, and his eyes were burning, but he knew that returning home to the forge would not be an option until each document on the desk in front of him had been read through one final time, signed, and then sent to its recipient. There were twenty documents in all, and Lief wondered if he would get home before midnight. Traders from the Island of Dorne were due to arrive in Del Harbour within the coming days, and it was Lief's job to ensure that all traders from Deltora would have their goods ready by the time they arrived. Relations between the two countries were still new, and Lief wanted to make the best impression possible. Messenger birds were all around him; fluffing their feathers and clucking. Each one of them wanted to be the first chosen to send one of Lief's messages. They seemed to share their keeper's enthusiasm when it came to pleasing him.

Lief's only consolation was the light breeze blowing through the open window. It was still the middle of winter, but it seemed that spring would be making an early appearance this year. Lief only hoped that this did not mean that the summer this year would be hotter than the last one. Many farms in the east had been devastated by the drought that the last summer had brought, and Lief did not feel quite ready to deal with that again.

Suddenly, a harsh cry came through the window. The next moment, the birds around Lief were moving aside so quickly that some of Lief's papers fell to the floor. Lief snatched up the ink pot he had been using before it too went flying. Kree flew through the window beside Lief, still squawking loudly.

"Kree!" Lief greeted the blackbird with a smile. "Could she not wait to tell me whatever it is?"

Kree responded to Lief's question by dropping a note onto the desk in front of him, and when he did not go to read it immediately, Kree snapped his beak threateningly. Puzzled, Lief picked up the note, and frowned as he recognised Jasmine's untidy scrawl. But as he read the few words that had been hastily scribbled on the paper, he froze.

"Lief, come quickly! I think it might be coming and I do not know what to do!"

Lief knew what "it" was. Jasmine had been with child for a little over seven months now, and neither of them wanted to give their baby a name before they had even seen it.

But the baby was not to be expected for at least six weeks, and although Lief knew very little about how these things worked, he did know that this could mean that something was very wrong.

Lief could hardly remember throwing back his chair and running out of the library, through the entrance hall, down the steps, out of the gates and through the city. He did not even hear Marilen calling after him, nor did he see her follow him out of the library in search of Ranesh. The only thing he remembered clearly was the sight that met him when he entered the small house behind the forge.

Jasmine was sitting in the living room, on the woven rug that Sharn had given them as a wedding gift, leaning her back against the wall that faced the hearth. Lief found it strange that she was not sitting in the chair she usually occupied, but right beside it. Perhaps she had tried to sit down, but missed the chair for some reason, and had found herself unable to get up again. She certainly looked as though she was in agony, and Lief's heart broke to see her like this. But as he crossed the room and bent to kiss her, she swiped at him with one of her clenched fists. Lief quickly drew back, having been on the receiving end of many such attacks from his wife over the past few months. He only hoped that this time, Jasmine would tell him what he had done before she hit him.

"You came alone!" Jasmine shouted, seeing the question in his eyes. "You were meant to bring Sharn with you! Can you not do anything?"

Lief stood there, stunned. Quickly, he pulled the note that Jasmine had written out of his pocket and read it again. It said nothing about bringing Sharn with him.

"I thought I would not need to put it in," Jasmine said, seeing the paper in Lief's hand. "I thought you would know!"

"Jasmine, why would you think that?" Lief asked, annoyed. "You know as well as I do that none of the gems in the belt give me the ability to read minds."

"Of course I know that," Jasmine retorted. "But I also know that none of the gems give you any knowledge about birthing a babe. If they did, my life would not have been so…"

But what Jasmine's life would not have been, Lief would never know. For at that moment, Jasmine's eyes widened in shock as she looked down. Lief knew that following his wife's gaze to that particular area of her body could be fatal at that moment, but he could not help himself. His attention was quickly brought back up to her face, however, when she began screaming at him again.

"You need to get Sharn!" She yelled. "Now I know it is really coming!"

Lief did not know exactly how she knew, nor did he care to find it out. All he knew at that moment was that one of the most important things in his life was about to happen, and that the floor in the living room would not be the place for it.

Lief turned and made to run out of the house, But Jasmine's screams stopped him in his tracks.

"What are you doing? You cannot leave me here!"

Lief turned around. "But you told me to get my mother," he said weakly.

"Send Kree, you fool!" She yelled. Lief quickly found a pencil in one of his pockets, and wrote a note to his mother on the back of the note that Jasmine had sent him. Before he could even fold the paper, Kree had snatched it out of his hand and was gone.

Lief closed the front door and went back into the living room. Jasmine was still thrashing on the floor, looking very much like she had when the black slime that had been sent by Paff was trying to suffocate her. He knelt down in front of her, keeping his distance in case she decided to lash out at him again. Lief found that he had never felt so helpless in his life. He knew that he could fight to the death an enemy who might threaten Jasmine and their unborn child, but he did not know what to do now. This was an enemy that he had never thought he would have to face.

"Lief?" Jasmine spoke his name like a plea, and Lief felt tears come into his eyes at the sound. She was reaching out for him with both of her hands, and Lief moved closer, taking her hands in his own.

"It will be alright, Jasmine," Lief said gently. "Mother will come soon."

Lief moved even closer and kissed his wife's brow, and the feeling of her cold, clammy skin against his lips made him even more afraid. He only hoped that Jasmine did not know just how frightened he was. Now, more than ever, she needed him to be brave.

Again, Jasmine writhed and screamed in agony, gripping Lief's hands as though she was clinging onto life itself. Jasmine was hurting him, but even when her body relaxed and her grip loosened, Lief did not let go, nor did he cry out. He knew that the pain in his hands was nothing compared to what his wife was going through. Finally, she looked up at him, her eyes swimming with tears.

"What if I do not survive to meet our baby?" Jasmine asked him in a trembling voice.

"Do not say that, my love," Lief said.

"What if our baby does not survive to meet us?" Jasmine's words were cutting through Lief like a knife. He had not thought of that. Lief knew that early births could be dangerous for the mother, but he had not thought of the child. The guilt that Lief felt as he realised this was beyond anything he had experienced.

When Sharn and Marilen entered the small house about half an hour later, carrying everything they thought they might need for the birthing, one glance into the living room told them that Lief and Jasmine had not been wrong. The child really was coming, perhaps even tonight.

Neither Lief nor Jasmine seemed to notice them, both of them lost in thought. But the looks of fear on both their faces told Sharn everything she needed to know. She vowed to herself that she would do everything she could to ensure that both Jasmine and her babe would survive this. She only hoped that it would be enough.

Sharn walked straight past her son and daughter in-law and into their bedroom. With dismay, she noticed that the bed was unmade. Putting down the supplies she was carrying, Sharn quickly changed the sheets and remade the bed, before returning to the living room.

"Lief," she said softly, crouching beside him.

"Mother…" Lief breathed, letting go of Jasmine's hands and turning to embrace her.

"It will be alright, my Son," Sharn said. "I am here now."

Sharn turned to Jasmine. The girl was biting down on her bottom lip, and Sharn could see that she had already drawn blood. "Do you think you are able to walk?" She asked, already knowing the answer. Jasmine looked up at her with terror in her eyes.

"To the palace?" she gasped, her face turning paler than it already was.

"No, no," Sharn answered quickly. "Just to your room. I think you will be far more comfortable there. Do you think…"

But Sharn was interrupted as Jasmine screamed as her body tensed, and this was answer enough for her.

"Lief," she said sharply. "You need to move her."

Lief did not hesitate. He gathered Jasmine in his arms, and carried her to their room, laying her down on the bed. Sharn followed them, dragging the armchair that Jasmine had fallen beside and placing it beside the bed.

"Sit," She said to Lief. "I will send a message to Doom. He needs to know what is happening."

As she left the room, Sharn thanked the heavens that Doom's research on the reproductive abilities of dragons had taken him to Tora, and that she could ask him to bring Zeean as well. During the time of the shadow lord, Sharn had been present for many early births, and she knew only too well that even the combined knowledge of both she and Marilen would not be enough to get them all through this. An early birth was like a game of chance. Some babies survived, some did not, and there was no way of knowing until the child was actually born. All Sharn could do now was hope for the best.

Lief looked up as Marilen entered the room, carrying two cups of tea. She put one cup down on Lief's bedside cabinet, and handed the other to Jasmine.

"Try and drink that," Marilen said softly as Jasmine sniffed the cup's contents. "It has pain relieving properties. Would you like something to eat?"

Marilen gestured to the cup on the cabinet as Jasmine shook her head. "It will help to calm you down," she said to Lief. Then turning back to Jasmine, she asked, "Would you like me to examine you? Or would you rather wait for Sharn?"

"Why do you need to examine me Now?" Jasmine asked curiously. Lief was wondering that himself.

"We need to check that you and your baby are healthy, that is all." Marilen informed her.

"But…" Jasmine tensed as pain racked her body once again. Marilen quickly snatched the cup from her hands before it could spill. When it all died down, she spoke.

"Sharn examined me herself a week ago, and everything was fine then. Why do I need to be examined again now?"

"Because it looks like your baby is coming into the world now," Marilen answered, handing the cup back to Jasmine, who quickly drained it.

At that moment, Sharn entered the small room, which was becoming rather crowded.

"I will examine her," Sharn said quickly to Marilen. "Lief, it is best if you leave for a moment."

Lief opened his mouth to protest, but a look from Marilen told him that now was not the time to argue. Picking up the cup of tea Marilen had given him, he left the room, closing the door behind him. This was plainly one of those events that only women were meant to witness. Certainly, he had never witnessed Jasmine being examined before. In fact, he had not even known that she was being examined routinely until a few moments ago. For a moment, he felt guilty that he had not been more involved, but he quickly dismissed those thoughts. He had taken sole responsibility for relations with Dorne, and had not asked Jasmine to help him at all due to her condition.

As he sat down in the chair that remained in front of the fire, Lief sniffed at his own cup. The contents did not smell like something he would want to drink, and when he took a sip, he was proved right. It tasted awful, and Lief wondered exactly how this stuff was meant to calm him down. He was just about to tip it into the fire, when Marilen emerged from the bedroom, closing the door.

"The baby is coming tonight," she said, looking straight at Lief.

Lief nodded, having heard her already tell Jasmine that. But the way Marilen was looking at him told him that all might not be well.

"Usually, new mothers take at least twenty-four hours to give birth," Marilen explained. "But this baby is very likely to come within the next few hours. If it does not, its chances of survival are not good at all."

"And what of Jasmine?" Lief asked, his heart sinking.

"For now, we are not so worried about Jasmine," Marilen said. "It is your babe who is more likely to be in danger at this point. But we will continue to monitor them as the night goes on, and if we feel it necessary, we will intervene."

"May I go back in there now?" Lief asked tentatively. In truth, he was not sure what he might see if he did go back in, but he was not about to let Marilen know that. Both she and his mother seemed to be extremely protective of his wife, and he could not think why that was.

"You really should drink that tea first," Marilen told him. "I know it smells awful, but trust me, it really will calm you down. I would know, I'm from Tora."

As she said these last words, Marilen smiled a little, and when Lief grimaced as he drank the tea, her smile grew even wider.

"You'll thank me later," she said to Lief as he handed her the now empty cup and entered the short hallway that lead to the bedroom.

The only significant change Lief noticed as he entered was that Jasmine was now wearing a nightdress. Lief also thought that she looked to be in less pain than before, but perhaps that could be Marilen's tea beginning to affect her already.

"Oh, Sharn," Jasmine exclaimed as Lief's mother rose so he could sit down. "I forgot, I made an awful mess on the rug…"

"Oh, That is nothing," Sharn answered in a consoling manner. "I guarantee your baby will make far more mess than that when it arrives. I made it to withstand such things. I can go and clean it up now if you like."

Jasmine gave a slight nod as Sharn left the room. She seemed not have noticed that Lief was now sitting beside her. Her face was peaceful, her eyes were closed. Lief wondered if this was how his mother and Marilen knew that she was healthy. He decided that it did not matter. As long as both Jasmine and their babe survived this, he could be happy.

Jasmine had been asleep for about an hour when Doom and Zeean arrived, only waking when Lief stood up to go and greet them.

As Lief entered the warm kitchen, the first things he noticed were the faces. All four people who sat at the table looked very grave, and Lief thought with dread that something else must have gone wrong. But when Doom and Zeean both turned and smiled at him, he realised that this was not so. No doubt they had both just been given updates on the situation, and were now just as worried as everyone else in the small house.

"She has been asleep for a while now," Sharn was telling Zeean. "Marilen made her a brew that seems to have reduced her pain."

"She woke up just now," Lief told his mother as Zeean nodded. As though Lief had given some sort of order, all three women immediately rose and made for the bedroom. Lief tried to follow them, but Doom put a warning hand on his arm.

"Only go in there if they call you," the older man said softly.

"But Jasmine… She…" Lief protested, trying to break free.

"Only go in there if they call you," Doom repeated, more forcefully this time. "There is little enough you can do as it is. You will almost certainly not help Jasmine if you panic."

"Panic?" Lief asked, becoming annoyed. "Why would I…"

"Because this is not an ordinary birth," Doom interrupted him. "I have only been here for five minutes and I know that. Your child was supposed to be born at the palace, as you know. I have sent Kree with a message for Barda…"

"No!" Lief shouted as he stood over Doom. "I do not want this place swarming with guards, by the heavens, are things not bad enough as it is?"

To Lief's annoyance, Doom sat calmly as he yelled at him, still with that same expressionless mask on his face. Lief wanted Doom to argue with him, or at least show some sign that he was affected by all this. These were his daughter and grandchild who might be in danger here, and to Lief, Doom seemed not to care at all.

For a while, there was silence. Lief noticed dimly that hard rain was now falling. He thought back to only a few hours ago, when he thought that the spring might have been coming early. He realised that he would do anything to be sitting in the library, still signing documents with blackbirds all around him, worrying about traders, farmers and endless droughts. It would be better than waiting helplessly for something to happen, knowing that he could do nothing to change the outcome.

Suddenly, the relative peace that had filled the room was shattered by Barda bursting into the room, which was quickly followed by Jasmine shrieking Lief's name from the other end of the house. Lief did not hesitate, he ran from the kitchen and into the bedroom, unaware of everything but the sound of his wife's voice.

"Jasmine, it is alright," Sharn was saying as Lief knelt beside the bed where she still lay. "Your baby is nearly here, you can do this."

Lief unclasped the belt of Deltora from around his waist, placing it over Jasmine's chest. He hoped that the strength of the Diamond and the calm of the Amethyst would help her now. Keeping his eyes firmly fixed on her face, Lief took one of Jasmine's hands in his own, placing the other over the Diamond. Jasmine was sobbing now, her face was covered with sweat, and there were tears streaming down her cheeks. The peaceful look she had worn before was long gone. Now, she looked exhausted, not to mention in great pain.

"It will be alright, Jasmine," Lief said, trying to hold back his own tears. It sounded like such a stupid thing to say. But the sound of his voice, (or perhaps it was the strength of the Diamond) seemed to give her the strength to take a deep breath, and allow the babe to continue on its journey.

Marilen had been right about the babe coming tonight. Within fifteen minutes of Lief entering the room, Zeean turned and whispered something to Sharn, who nodded and seemed to smile. At once, all three women gathered around the foot of the bed, Leaving Lief alone by Jasmine's head. He dared not look at what was going on. Not just because he knew that under any other circumstances, he would not be present for the birth of his child. But these were not any other circumstances, this child was coming now, perhaps only to leave the world as soon as it did. Lief did not think he could bear to see that happen, after all they had been through. He supposed that after all the good luck that he and Jasmine had had on all their quests to save the kingdom, something was bound to go wrong. But why did it have to be this?

"Alright, Jasmine," Lief's mother's voice broke through his thoughts. "Your babe is nearly here! One more push, and it will be all over."

"No," Jasmine moaned. "Sharn, I do not think I can do this."

Despite the fact that Lief was choosing not to actively watch the birth of his child, he did not miss the other women tense as they heard these words. Plainly, this was not the response that Sharn was hoping for when she gave her words of encouragement.

"Yes, you can," Lief whispered in his wife's ear. "You survived for nearly ten years in the forests, surely birthing a babe would be easy after that."

Jasmine removed her hand from the Diamond, and reached out to Lief as if to strike him. But it seemed she did not even have the strength for that. Even so, the look she was giving him would have been enough to make him run from the room at any other time. But Lief did not run. This was not any other time. His wife and unborn child needed him now.

"Mother," Lief said urgently as Jasmine tried and failed to raise herself from her pillows. "Can you not help…"

"No," Sharn said sharply, looking at him properly for the first time since he had come into the room. "That is the last thing we want to do, this babe needs to be born as naturally as possible."

As Lief looked into his mother's face, he understood how this could have been the same woman who threw a man from a high tower window to protect her own unborn child. To protect him. In its own way, this situation was just as serious as that one had been. But there was no enemy to skilfully dispose of here, there was only nature, and whatever it decided. Now, Lief's mother was helpless. But he was not. Lief did not know where that thought had come from. Perhaps it had also come from nature. Either way, there was no time to wonder. If this child was not born soon, it would not survive. That he did know for certain.

Throwing all caution to the winds, Lief moved a little closer to Jasmine's head, and removed the pillows from beneath it. Ignoring the cries of shock from the three other women who still stood by Jasmine's feet, he climbed onto the bed behind his wife, placing her head against his chest and propping his back against the headboard.

"You can do this, Jasmine," Lief whispered to her as he put his arms around her and placed her hand back on the Diamond. "Our baby needs you to get it out. If you do not, it will not survive to meet us."

Lief felt, rather than saw Jasmine nod. As she took yet another deep breath, he saw Marilen and his mother placing the discarded pillows beneath his wife's legs.

Lief closed his eyes and held his own breath as Jasmine gave one huge effort, then another, and then a third. For a moment, her screams of pain were all that could be heard within the small room. And then, all of a sudden, there was silence. Lief dared not open his eyes, for fear of what he might see. But then, a new sound entered the room. Lief took some time to figure out what it was. But when he at last opened his eyes, he understood. The sound he had heard was the unmistakable cry of a newborn babe.

Later that night, as the rain continued to pore, Lief and Jasmine sat alone with their newborn daughter, who had still not been given a name. The baby was unlike any other that Lief had ever seen. Not only was she smaller than other babies, she had a fragile look about her that made him think that she might break if handled too roughly. As a result, it had taken a lot of persuasion from Jasmine and his mother for Lief to finally agree to hold her, and even then, as he gently stroked her cheek, he thought that her impossibly delicate looking skin might tear under his fingertip. The fine dusting of black hair that covered the babe's head was about the only thing that looked healthy to Lief. Sharn had been quick to assure them both that many early babes looked like this, but even now, as she slept peacefully in her mother's arms, Lief was unsure. Within the hour after the baby girl's birth, Doom had fetched the cradle that had been waiting for her at the palace. But Jasmine had flatly refused to place her into it, and Lief had agreed, despite the fact that the two new parents badly needed sleep themselves. The unspoken fear that their daughter's first hours might also be her last still hung heavy in the air, whatever Sharn had told them.

As Lief moved his eyes from his daughter's face to his wife's, he noticed that her expression had grown sad. Surely, despite everything, this was a joyous occasion.

"What is wrong, Jasmine?" Lief asked, breaking the long silence. "Mother said that she would be alright, at least until…"

"It is not that," Jasmine said quietly, being careful not to wake the babe in her arms.

"Then what is it?" Lief tried again. Perhaps Sharn was right, and they did need sleep. Perhaps Jasmine was upset because she was tired.

"It is just that…" Jasmine broke off. "You'll think it's stupid."

"No, I won't," Lief promised.

"My mother," Jasmine said softly. "I wish she was here, to… You know, teach me things. How to look after her…"

Lief nodded in understanding. He knew there was nothing he could say to comfort Jasmine now. He too felt the same way about his father. Lief was not sure he knew anything about being a father himself, and in the past months, he had found himself wishing that his own father was still with him. It had been hard enough trying to tell Doom and Barda how he felt about Jasmine after he had just become king, and now, he and Jasmine had a baby of their own. A baby who would need her parents for the rest of their lives. A baby who needed to learn the ways of the kingdom, so that one day, she might wear the belt of Deltora as he did now.

And then, like a bolt of lightning, an idea struck him.

"Jasmine," he said excitedly. "We still have not given her a name."

Jasmine looked at him as though he had gone mad, and Lief knew what she was thinking. That giving their daughter a name would make her easier to love, but harder to lose. He understood his wife's reasons for not wanting to become too attached to the child she held, but still, he continued.

"We could call her Anna," he said. "After your mother."

Jasmine said nothing, but her slow nod and the tears in her eyes told Lief everything that words could not.

And so, Anna was given the name of her grandmother, who had sacrificed everything so that Adin's line could continue, and it was this that gave her parents hope. In the days to come, Marilen would document Anna's birth in the Deltora Annals, and there would be much celebration throughout the kingdom as the news of the princess's birth reached the people. Gifts for the new heir would start arriving from everywhere, and Lief and Jasmine would find themselves wondering just what they were going to do with the seemingly endless supply of clothes and toys.

For her part, Anna would grow up hearing the story of how close she had come to beginning her life on the floor in the living room, and as she grew older, she would become increasingly annoyed that it was always told on her birthday, in front of a group of teasing, giggling friends. But she would not understand just how serious the situation had been, until she was nearly an adult herself.

But for now, Anna continued to sleep in Jasmine's arms, blissfully unaware of anything. Finally, when Lief noticed that Jasmine was falling asleep herself, he persuaded her to put Anna down in the cradle, so that they might also get some sleep. And as Anna lay there, her little chest still rising and falling as though nothing had changed, Lief realised that this was everything he had hoped for when he had first run from the palace so many hours ago.

All three of them had survived Anna's early birth, and Lief decided that once he was well rested enough, he would rejoice with the rest of his people. He certainly had enough reason to do so.

(A/N.) The cup of tea that Marilen gave Lief was an infusion of Valerian route. It really does taste and smell awful.


End file.
